The new fan-mad webseries Star Trek Continues is gearing up to show their first episode. TrekMovie has exclusive details on the premiere, the first images from the episode and more – including breaking the news that Michael Forest is reprising his Star Trek role as Apollo. More details below including a chat with Michael Forest.

Star Trek Continues Premiers May 24th With Michael Forest

Star Trek Continues star and executive producer Vic Mignogna is now opening up about the first episode of his new fan series set in the original Star Trek universe. Mignogna has revealed to TrekMovie that the inaugural episode, “Pilgrim of Eternity,” will debut at Phoenix Comicon on May 24th, 2013 (6PM). Following the episode there will also be a panel discussion with Mignogna and most of his cast – including guest star Michael Forest, who is reprising his original role as Apollo from the TOS episode "Who Mourns For Adonais." The inaugural Star Trek Continues episode will also be made available online that same weekend.

The new Star Trek webseries was developed by veteran voice actor Vic Mignogna, who stars as Capt. Kirk. He is joined by Todd Haberkorn as Mr. Spock and Star Trek author Larry Nemecek as Dr. McCoy. The cast also includes Chris Doohan (son of the late James Doohan) plays Scotty and Mythbusters’ Grant Imahara as Mr. Sulu. Kim Stinger (Lt. Uhura) and Wyatt Lenhart (Mr. Chekov) round out the ensemble cast.

“Pilgrim of Eternity" will be the first episode of Star Trek Continues – a show that aims continue the story of the original Star Trek series which ended after only three seasons. Mignogna tells TrekMovie "like any fan, I always wanted to see the rest of the five year mission, and that is what ‘Star Trek Continues’ is made to do."

FIRST LOOK: Captains quarters set from Star Trek Continues “Pilgrim of Eternity"

The episode was shot in January of this year, with production taking 10 days. Star Trek Continues is produced by Trek Continues, LLC in association with Farragut Films and it is filmed in Kingsland, GA on what they boast as the "largest free-standing, extensive and accurate Star Trek TOS sets in the world."

The episode is currently in post-production. Mignogna tells TrekMovie that currently they are finishing up the special effects saying "while the show isn’t all about FX, the episode does contain more FX shots than a typical original Star Trek episode." He promised to provide more details on the effects later, but he did provide us a first look at the Enterprise from Star Trek Continues (below) and if you look closely you can see a couple of guys working on the hull.

Star Trek Continues also provided TrekMovie access to a chat with guest star Michael Forest. It was a bit of a home-coming for the 83 year-old actor returning to Star Trek. Here is the exchange…

How did it feel to reprise the role of Apollo after 40 plus years?Michael: The whole experience was surreal!

Describe your experience working on the set of Star Trek Continues?Michael: I found that working with the people there was different than working on shows in the past. The camera, sound crew, makeup people were all excellent and a pleasure to work with. In fact, everyone involved was a joy! Even though many were volunteers, things were handled and completed extremely well. Their behavior and work ethic was very professional.

How did you become involved with this production?Michael: I was approached by the Vic, the producer/director and asked if I would do the same character I had done about 45 years ago! It was a rather astounding question, but the concept sounded interesting.

What were some of the highlights or regrets?Michael: I got a huge charge when they brought me a double whopper from Burger King! [laughs] I would have been happier if I had been a bit younger because I no longer had the agility and stamina so apparent when I filmed the original episode.

Visit with Star Trek Continues at PHXCC

Many of Star Trek Continues cast and crew will be attending Phoenix Comicon 2013 on May 24th, including Michael Forest.
An autograph session will be held after the premiere screening and panel (moderated by yours truly).

What’s next for STC

Mignogna tells TrekMovie that between now and the May 24th premiere there will be more reveals and details on the production of the first episode of Star Trek Continues. And he is already planning his second episode which will begin shooting in October. Mignogna says the goal is to try to get two episodes out each year, and maybe even three, saying "we don’t want fans to have to wait too long between missions."

If you haven’t seen them,there are three fun Star Trek Continues ‘vignettes’ which were shot before production on the first episode. Here is the latest one "Happy Birthday, Scotty."

No offense to the other fan productions, but just from what I’ve seen, this captures the essence of the Original Series as a straight forward fan continuation. I love Phase II but it feels more like a different crew aboard a Constitution ship which isn’t a bad thing at all. And again, no offense meant by it.

I’ve been very impressed thus far with the STC crew – they capture the look and feel of TOS far more than any other fan production has, right down to the film grain. Can’t wait to see what they’ve done!

Maybe it’s me, and I don’t mean to denigrate anyone’s efforts here, but this, this doesn’t seem like Star Trek to me. I love the sets, costumes, production design and the effects, but the acting is just so bad. Vic SOUNDS like Captain Kirk, but he doesn’t LOOK like Kirk, and the others are not nearly as good.

I have been inpressed from what I have seen so far. Especially from Chris Doohan as Scotty. He looks and sounds so much like his dad I would almost think he is the orignal Scotty. Can’t wait to see this.
Sound’s like fun.

Fan films are my guilty pleasure, and I can’t help but feel that STAR TREK CONTINUES is falling into the same trap that has hampered PHASE II — episode sequels and trotting out former guest stars. This time to an episode that really didn’t beg for a sequel. Frankly, the original show didn’t really do follow ups (yes I know the Tribble sequel in TAS was originally meant for TOS).

Fan films, such as CONTINUES, have the opportunity with its marvelous sets and costumes to really tell the TREK stories that they’ve always wanted to tell. Stories with real themes that aren’t about connecting the dots of canon. Grab our attention with stories that are ABOUT SOMETHING not guest stars, fancy VFX and space battles. Tell stories that matter.

Can’t wait to see more of this series- It looks awesome so far. The cast has already captured my heart with Sy-fy. And for Mr Scot, aww I always had a thingy for the dad and the son is just as good with the voice. But everyone keep up the good work. I need more please!!

This is awesome! The actors might not look too much like the originals, but they captured the same quality of the original series and i love the juxtaposition of the original background music that really conveys the scene.

Mignogna may not have the voice of Shatner-Kirk, but he does a near-perfect job with Kirk’s body language. Chris Doohan is just great [movement and voice], and so are Sulu and Uhura [their body language was also close to perfect]. Chekov did pretty well, and so did McCoy, but Spock was … just painful to watch.

To me Star Trek can’t be good if their Spock isn’t good. Talk about a high voice, OMG, Spock is a BASS, not a tenor. I can’t believe it’s that difficult to find someone who at least *resembles* Nimoy in face and voice … and expressions. This young man was miscast.

Now that my casting rant is over, I did very much like the sets and much of the writing. The music and background sounds made it special, as did the SFX.

… Grant Imahara!! /*** fans self ***/ I’ve sat through many a Mythbusters show with my kids over the years. I might have to watch a few Star Trek Continues webisodes. I watched Star Trek Of Gods and Men some time ago and was a bit meh about it, and I don’t think I’ve watched any of the Phase II stuff. This “Happy Birthday, Scotty” scene was rather cute, but it might take me a while to get used to McCoy’s voice…

Hmm.. either the ship is really small or those guys on the hull are pretty big. I make the guys about 1/3 the height of the center part of the saucer. I think there are supposed to be at least 6 decks in that section. The guys should be about 1/2 or 1/3 that size.

OMG! I hate to be critical of this. As a long time Trekkie (since before the term Trekker even existed) I really, really do as I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I fervently hope that in the vignette, Vic was just settling into the role because the constant muscle flexing, tight shirt and off key voice (never mind how short he is compared to the other actors) just threw the whole thing off for me. Reminded me more of a SNL skit than a Trek episode.
That being said, I’ve met Doohan and like his dad, he’s a really nice guy. I want this to succeed. Please guys, concentrate on stories, not doing impersonations. I like Phase 2, Farragut and a couple of the other fan films, each for thier own take. Some have better acting, some have better sets. As I said, give us stories and we’ll be along for the ride.

The minutia criticisms of Trek fan productions is so boring. They’re non-professional productions produced by fans, not high-budget Hollywood, and of varying quality but I’ve enjoyed all of them—Phase II, Exeter, ST Continues, Farragut, and others.

Gotta say, Chris Doohan is excellent! Really. Such a great interpretation of the character. Has so many characteristics of his dad, but still his own. Vocally, facially and body language. Just living, No! being the character. Really uncanny. I’m impressed. Makes me happy to hear it. There’s your Scotty. I’d have given you the role in the movie, Chris. Too good! ” Ahw, aye, she’s a beauty”. Agreed. Really well done.

While I like sequels, original stories are nice too. One thing I like about New Voyages/Phase II is that lately they’ve taken to filming stories that were written for ST in one incarnation or another but never put into production – like Gerrold’s “Blood and Fire” and Povill’s “The Child” (rewritten for TNG during the Writer’s Strike but originally written for the 1970’s Phase II) and so forth. And I’m particularly stoked that they are producing “Mind-Sifter”, a fan story that appeared in the New Voyages paperback back in 1975. I’ve always wanted to see that story made into an episode and I hope the P2 people can pull it off.

In the meantime – the ST Continues stuff looks good too; after all, one can never have too much Star Trek. And you are absolutely right that Chris’ take on his father’s delivery is uncanny. And great.

These fan productions always get soooo close, but can never seem to seal the deal. Oh well, just like all all the others, I’ll be there with bells on when it becomes available online. I wish them much success!

Very impressive. Production is pristine. Chris is EXCELLENT!! But accurate sets?? Sorry, but the blue frames on the viewscreens are WAAAY too wide, for one thing. If you’re going to do it all the way, get the obvious things right. The CGI E? Needs work. Gabe- you can do better, dammit!
Love the Nakada phasers… gotta get one.

Hey all! Thank you for checking out the article. Its fun to see so many folks ready to watch the first episode and give their two cents. I’m always on the look out for good Spock info. I’ve had a blast researching this character and what makes him tick as he battles with being half-human/half-Vulcan on the bridge of the Enterprise.
So, if you could point me in the direction of the sources that say Spock’s voice absolutely must be a deep bass and not just Nimoy doing his take on the character of Spock that has been portrayed probably more than a few times over the past several decades, please point that out to me cause I’d love to add it to my research notebook for future reference. Thx!

While Vic does indeed have the Shatnerisms down, I hope to see a more nuanced performance that makes it more his own. That said, I’m looking forward to the first full episode. I’m curious how Michael Forest will be able to pull of the flawless god at his present age.

Wow. Regarding that shot of Kirk’s quarters, mark me down as a fan of the folks who built, and lit, that set. Matt Jeffries and Jerry Finnerman would no doubt be pleased and proud to see such a fine homage to their work.

That said, I’ll second the poster who wondered why it was necessary to film a sequel to “Who Mourns for Adonis?”, an episode that to put it kindly doesn’t make too many ‘best of TOS’ lists. Not assuming that I know better I’ll be very interested to see what the producers have come up with. And as a former Phase 2 crew member, I’m hoping that production will soon resume releasing new material as well.

@47 which is why it looks better than the opening credits. The other E being used as the primary ship in the full episode was built from the studio model plans provided by Gary Kerr. There is no more accurate CGI E out there than the one in this series. Created under the watchful eye of Doug Drexler and animated by the same. If Gabe wasn’t so strung out, he MIGHT have been able to do better, but I doubt it.

I like how original Star Trek is turning from a TV series to an idea open to interpretations and reenactments, much like Shakespeare’s works or passion plays. I’m not sure if it is a good thing, but I like it.

Thanks, I didn’t pick that up first time through. The vignettes with McCoy in them have the other actor (Chuck Huber). I guess I’ll have to wait and see if Larry Nemecek does a southern accent. I see Memory Alpha cites his favouite TOS character as Leonard McCoy when he was involved with ‘Starbase ECU’ at East Central University, so I have high hopes he can pull off a credible McCoy.

@27 Agreed. There have been other actor that have done better with Spock. He doesn’t look or sound like Spock. It is a distraction to the rest of the production.
Too bad we can’t have Zachary Quinto with this crew.
And McCoy has never been redone well IMHO.

It’s the basic reason copyrights were created with short expirations. While Disney’s successful lobbying made that no longer the case in this situation, the history of shorter copyrights has shown that these type of things are ultimately beneficial to society and thus humans.

I did read the entire article. I am also amazed that in my excitement I didn’t actually see that the episode was being released on the web the same reason. I’m annoyed that I actually missed that little tidbit, as I’m normally a very thorough reader. This is good news indeed. I’ve been looking forward to this release. Now I can enjoy it along with Into Darkness!

I like it too. No production, fan or otherwise, can credibly claim to be the missing fourth or fifth seasons of TOS, that particular ship having sailed forever in 1969. But it’s sure fun to see such talented and creative individuals give it their best shot.

But it also replicates almost exactly the at times awful, goofy acting, the horrible effects and cardboard set decorations.

I guess it’s supposed to do that, but to me I don’t get the point. I don’t get the appeal. Why do I want to watch “new” stories of the original crew of the Enterprise as if it was made in 1964?

I guess there is some nostalgia in the common 1960’s shows (all of them had that kitschy, goofy and cardboard type look and feel to them). But i too me that is the only reason to do this type of thing, and to me that’s not a good enough reason.

Okay everyone – just wait until you see the Spock actor and all the rest pull off an amazing job playing the original roles. You will be quite pleased. Any TOS will be won-over within minutes. Trust me. And the idea of doing a sequel to an original episode is great – especially one that can bring back an original guest star!! I can’t believe someone has an issue with that – especially since Who Mourns was one of the best originals. Guarantee this will be better than the movie.

@55 I’d be more interested to see if Larry Nemecek has learnt how to act since his ‘cameo’ on New Voyages :)

@ 53 David, ‘Star Trek Continues’ is a different fan production company to ‘NewVoyages/Phase Two’, which as I understand it, Vic Mignona was involved with (Kitumba anyone?) before ‘Continues’ began.
I have read a few things on sites about ‘accusations’ here and there, does anyone know the actual story behind their parting?

#26 Phase two have been juxtapositioning original series music for ages on theirs, but I agree it helps place you there.
I love that Mignona, such enthuisasm for the part, even as far as portraying the Shats ‘tubby’ look, but apart from sounding like he’s on Helium, he’s nailed the part

Spock’s typical sound is more of a baritone, not a bass. Worf is a bass. But if the character is well-played, the actual pitch becomes irrelevant. It took me a few minutes to get used to Quinto’s (slightly) higher pitch, but after that, he was -SPOCK-. Same with all the characters, Urban’s McCoy, especially.

@#30 As I recall from my plans I had when a kid by,,,,,,,,,,(Franz???? memories going), there’s only two decks through the saucer section and the two EVA guys look about right height to me, but could be wrong?
Although you really don’t have to ‘look closely to see them’ ;))

Again, you’re the man! Just such a spot on performance. It’s not just the Scottish brogue,…it’s the connective sounds and crutches we all have in our speech that you do so well,….you really are a student of the character and how your dad played it. You have it down, pat. Well done, man.

On the Michael Forest front,… always liked him in that episode. It’s a standout in the show. I hear he’s a cat lover. Another reason for me to like him too.

A lot has been written about the voices of the actors not “sounding” like their characters. That seems kind of odd to me. The characters don’t have a particular sound — apart from regional accents. The “baritone” referred to is Nimoy’s, not necessarily Spock’s.
Some of the actors are choosing to directly emulate the characterizations from the show, and that’s great (Doohan!!), but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Haberkorn is “wrong” for Spock. Just my .02.

Vic sounds like he needs to smoke more. (Not that I’d ever actually encourage anyone to take up smoking.) If he’s an experienced voice actor, I’m sure he knows some tricks to make his voice sound deeper.

And @chrisdoohan, I want to reflect what others have been saying – you are truly Montgomery Scott!

LOVE that shot of the crewman working on the saucer section. And from my own collection of deck plans they look to be the correct scale.

I am a fan of fan productions. I can deal with their limitations budget-wise and time-wise. And everyone has to concede that fan productions can’t exactly scour the globe looking for acting talent that can physically resemble the originals as well as sound like and exactly mimic their mannerisms. Chris Doohan has a decided genetic advantage in that category.

I have enjoyed the Phase II productions but I have to admit that I am a little confused as to what is going on with their productions. Are they doing Wild Wild West? Is Buck Rogers still in production? Which Phase II episode is getting released? And in how many parts will it be? I’d never presume how to tell anyone else to do their thing, but by the same token if it were me I would do one thing and one thing as good as I can. And I would release it as a completed project. Not in 2 or 3 parts.

Having said that my opinion is that Star Trek Continues has the best vibe going. I really look forward to it’s release on May 24th. Maybe as much as STID. Who knows, maybe more.

Chris Doohan makes me happy to watch these. I mean the goal can’t be to replicate the original actors 100%, it’s impossible and you just hope the writing is nice and the attention to nostalgic detail holds up.

But Chris as Scotty is like “Am I watching the Original Series?” material. Absolutely uncanny, and despite my digging Pegg, I wish he was Scotty in the films (They did nail Bones, though.)

Gah, I just can’t get past the guy playing Kirk’s voice. It’s so high pitched and whiny sounding to my ears. The rest is pretty decent, though I could do with Grant playing down the “This is my Sulu voice” acting.

I was turned off the first few seconds when what’s-his-face sounded like he was trying to emulate Shatner. I think what the world need is one more poorly acted fan made continuation of the original series.

@52 Well, Sylar, that was awfully rude, judge mental, personal, and over-exagerrated. Who are you? Do I know you? It’d be awful nice if people like you would say your name and say what you have to say to my face rather than insult somebody with an anonymous handle with internet anonymity. That’s disgusting. Who are you and what’s on your industry resume?

Plus, Mr. Sylar, the term ‘strung out’ is kind of degrading considering that I don’t do drugs. Its not a very good character trait to levy damning conjecture at people you don’t know whose circumstances you do not live.

On a more positive and less stereo typically “internet fighty” sort of tone, regardless of detractor’s opinions, I’ve enjoyed being able to contribute to Star Trek Continues. Vic has become a very good valued and gracious friend to me, Larry has been my friend since I was a kid, Chris Doohan is super awesome on screen and in person, Grant is a class act, and the crew, many of whom I’ve known for 10-15 years, are top notch. This production will represent the most ambitious apex of what has ever been done with an independent, fan driven Star Trek production. You can find any nitpicks you want, say you don’t like this or that actor or the trim on the bridge screens is too thick, but can you honestly say that something like Transformers 3, with a 900 zillion dollar budget and a staff the size of an island nation is better and more engaging to watch? It is true that I had circumstances in my life that didn’t allow me to contribute as much to this project as I’d hoped to be able to, but I did try to make my contributions appear to be up to the level of what something this polished would require, and I’m happy with the work I did that will be in the first episode. As with anything, entertainment is a matter of taste, and this will attract its fair share of lovers and detractors. What I will definitely say for sure is that from what I’ve seen, this production is slick, tight and pro enough that it’ll make you think really hard about being a naysayer, even if you REALLY want to be one. :)

Vic is a very experienced actor, and rather well known in some circles. He’s got a lot of credits to his name. Most notable, he portrayed Edward Elric in the English version of Full Metal Alchemist and Brotherhood. He’s also an accomplished singer and songwriter.

Todd Haberkorn as well. Some of his most well known roles were as Death the Kid from Soul Eater, Allen Walker from D-Gray Man and Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail, among many others.

These aren’t just guys doing this for kicks. They’re actually professional, well trained and seasoned actors, writers, directors and producers in their own right.

So, of all the things for most people to nitpick, it’s that their voices don’t sound right? Wow. I guess some people really can’t be made happy, no matter what you do.

Agreed. I found initially all voices different from the originals (with the possible exception of Urban’s McCoy, from memory). By the time I’d seen Star Trek (2009) a bazillion times, I no longer noticed.

And, I have to say, it’s not just the fact that different actors were used. I remember going to see ST:TMP the first time and I couldn’t believe how different Nimoy’s Spock sounded from the voice I remembered on TOS.

If the guys doing Star Trek Continues are good at their character treatments, most of us won’t even notice their voices by the second episode.

@99 I told Jose Whedon I didn’t like the shape of Iron Man’s arc reactor in his chest…I wish he would have just taken the note…would have made such a difference in my experience of the 200 million dollar movie for me.

Why doesn’t he just listen to my request and individual requests of all the thousands of other people that have an opinion on how it should be done, y’know?

I mean, they have executive producers that comb over every detail of the whole production, but if they really want to improve their product, they should listen to my one nitpicking comment about it. Cause I know better. Cause I’m on a forum.

You know, the problem with these shows, and I’m talking specifically about New Voyages and this one, are that there is WAY too much resemblence to the original series. It’s impressive, but, in my opinion, they would be better served creating a brand new crew on a brand new ship, but set in the same universe. Now THAT, I could buy into.

When you have the talent that can recreate, with absolute acuracy, all the sets and costumes and props and the music and the sound FX…you create an expectation of recreating the original cast as well, and that can never happen. It’s like, who has come onboard the enterprise and replaced the crew with imposters? It’s that familiarity, if not exact duplication, of everything else that makes those comparisons inevitable. I can’t look past the acting and cast because everything else in the production is constantly reminding me that Shatner should be standing there,not this other guy. JJ got away with it because it’s a whole different timeline. That was the genius that made it work.

My advice to anyone starting up one of these series, intending to totally recreate the look of TOS while portraying the iconic Kirk and company, would be to create a whole new crew instead, on a whole new ship..but in the same time frame. Otherwise you will always look like imposters, no matter how good you are.

@ 102: Pish, posh. The point of these shows is that we love the TOS, and felt robbed that we didn’t get the complete “five-year voyage”. Plus, there ARE other fan-made outings depicting new crews and voyages. Heck, there is one production about the adventures of the USS Farragut, set at the same time as the USS Enterprise’s original voyage. The point is that we love the series (you don’t see too many fan-made versions of TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT, now, do you) because the characters in the show are iconic. You really should respect that, you know, especially since these fan-made outings are trying to capture the spirit of the original show.

102. star trackie Actually STAR SHIP EXETER and Farragut FARRAGUT are fan made STAR TREK series that take place in TOS time line. They have different ships and crews for their storylines. Also I have heard about more TOS fan films out there, but those two I have actually seen and are not bad. Heck I enjoy most fan films and while they are not always perfect, they are good free entertainment that no one is forcing us to watch. I am not sure if you knew of these other series and they can be found easy enough. I am still hoping EXETER finishes of their last show.